A Memorable Christmas
by smartkid37
Summary: The team spends a very different Christmas in Mexico, trying to regroup,just a few weeks after losing one of their team members. Sequel to The Loop. Should read that one first.
1. Chapter 1

_A/N: Sequel to "The Loop" This won't make much sense unless you read that one first._

_A very special Thank You goes out to LabRatsRule for editing and assisting me with this. Your help and expertise is so greatly appreciated._

* * *

He had no idea what day it was. He had no idea where he was. Time had lost all meaning for him. Where this was; this place; held no meaning for him. The only thing he knew was that he was in trouble; and his gut was twisting with the need to find help. He only dimly recalled being tossed out of a car; his tall, frail body jarring painfully with each excruciating contact it had made with the hard ground beneath him as he had rolled and bounced uncontrollably; continuously; the force of momentum not in his favor. Vaguely he remembered being thankful that the car had been stopped when they'd thrown him out of it. At this very moment, it was the last thing he remembered.

With a painfully wry touch of humor; he realized he didn't even remember anything that had happened to him before being treated like unwanted puppy. Trying to force his mind to think; to remember; things he could possibly do to find help; he came up painfully empty; it was the only thing his brain could process at that moment; everything was too much. Once again, his gut twisted with the need to get help; to not stay where he was; despite the agonizing pain he felt with each movement he made.

**"Somebody help me! "I can't do this!"** he cried out in painful desperation; so tired of it all.

_Get up! _

"I can't" he answered the voice; as tears of relief ran down his face _Thank God!_ _A_ voice of hope was with him for some unknown reason; he'd take what help he could get! He wasn't alone! He'd been alone for a long time now; somehow he did get that sense. He couldn't tell if his tears were just from the relief surging through him or if they were also from the pain his abused and beaten body was screaming out from.

He hung on to the comfort of that voice; the motivation it provided his less than willing body; to survive for another minute; one after the other.

_Come on, already; get up!_

His broken hands were painful and damn near useless; he was powerless to help himself do anything at the moment. He found himself crying in sheer frustration and pain now.

_What's the problem?_

How could he move? His confusion was adding to his feeling of helplessness. He may have the help of that voice; but he couldn't do what it was telling him to do. **"I can't move!"**

_Yes you can! Get up!_

"I can't get up the hill; my fingers are broken; I'm hurt too much to move;" Secretly; he was pleased and relieved that the voice wasn't leaving; even when he hadn't moved. Finally, he had hope!

_You can do it!_

"How?"

_You have to find it within yourself to do this. No one else can do this for you. _

"Every time I move; it hurts too much"

_I know. If you want help; you have to find it._

He planted his arms as firmly on the ground as he could; and painfully raising his torso up over his arms. Bearing his weight down on them; he somehow found the strength to pick them up; first one and then the other; moving them one inch at a time; progressing up the hill; pulling his body up the hill; until crying out in pain; he stopped moving.

_Good! Do it again!_

Again he repeated the maneuver; again crying out in pain; but forced himself to keep going; inch by painful inch.

_Good work, Keep going._

After what seemed like an eternity; he stopped; his body protesting in more pain than he could handle. **"I can't go on!" **Not even having a clue how far he had or hadn't gone; he no longer cared; it was too painful and much too difficult.

_Yes, you can! _

"No, I can't do this!" He was breathing hard now; his body over exerted and beyond exhaustion

_NO! You don't have permission to give up! You're stronger than this! You can do this!!_

He found himself crying in earnest now. "**I can't take anymore; just let me lay here and let go!"**

_NO! You have never been a quitter! You can do this! Let's go; one push at a time!"_

He once again; forced himself to painfully use his arms and move them forward; inch by excruciating inch. Soon; even through the haze of pain and exhaustion; he began to hear the sound of the ocean getting closer and closer; like he was almost on top of it. What seemed like centuries later; he'd reached the top of the hill. Giving one last, desperate effort; he pulled himself up over the edge and flopped down on his back in exhaustion; allowing himself to finally relax as the voice congratulated him on his hard and painful journey.

_Good job! I'm proud of you!_

He couldn't move; he wanted to give into the darkness where he lay. He smiled at the voice in his head. Finally able to relax; albeit; painfully' he closed his eyes.

_No! Don't stop now!! You can't stay there!_

**I can't move! **

_You have to calm down. Don't give up now. _

"Where do I go?"

_Use your head. Think._

Using every ounce of strength he had left; he clumsily got to his feet and searched with just his eyes; finally; and thankfully; after stumbling straight ahead; one step after another; he stopped; having located a long pier of rocks below him; in a secluded cove; a small; seemingly untouched stretch of beach. _Sanctuary!_

Looking around; he spotted what appeared to be steps going down; so he; his steps excruciatingly slow and careful; each one renewing the intense pain shooting through his body; climbed down the stairs. By the time he reached the bottom; Man thought he would pass out from the pain and exhaustion. Every fiber of his being screamed for him to stop and just lay down on the spot. As he started to give in to his body's demands for rest; that voice proved he was still not alone;

_Keep going, you hear me? Don't you stop yet!"_

**"I can't go on!"**

_SShh. Calm down. Use your head!! Don't give up now!_

Painstakingly slow; he searched for a hiding place; thankfully; finding one in a short time. Carefully, tucking himself into the hidden cave-like area; dazed and confused; with his beaten and abused body unable to walk another step; allowed himself to relax; hearing the wonderful voice in his head; still there as it told him: _"Good Job! Now, sleep!"_

Feeling safely hidden from the world; he quickly did just that. He fell asleep in the surrounding darkness. His last conscience thought was a "thank you" to that life-saving voice; that had pushed him and kept him going until he was safe.


	2. Chapter 2

On a short, two mile stretch of secluded tropical beach; the beauty of the untouched sand almost matched that of the idyllic color of the unjaded water. Where the untarnished sea lapped at the edge of the sand; no mark or indentation marred its' pristine appearance; it was untouched natural beauty laid out at its' best.

At the far end of this secluded beach; the outcrop of rocks was home to many tiny sea creatures; a handful of bird's nests; and one almost completely hidden cave-like crevice; complete with enough strange rock formation overhead; to provide shelter from storms and rain; for any creature who happened upon it.

On this particular morning; tucked away in this wonderful hidden spot, the man who had found this respite from the surrounding world; found himself being reluctantly awakened from much needed slumber; taking in the smell of the ocean and the sounds of the squawking seagulls; as he came awake and regained his senses.

The tropical breeze felt like a battering shroud of ice to his painfully thin; less than healthy body. Needled awake by the shivers of a chill that had begun to seep into his bones; he got up clumsily and slowly worked his way down from the rocks; his body still sending pain signals to his brain. At least he'd gotten some much needed rest. Now, at least; he could begin to figure out what to do next. He made his way to the beach and the brilliant warmth and light of the sun.

As unanswered questions began to rise up in his mind; he began to almost mindlessly meander up and down the beach at the water's edge; getting lost in the overwhelming supply of confused thoughts.

_Where was he? Who was he? What was his name? Where was this? How did he get here? Where was he supposed to be? How did he get to be in that car? Who were those people who had thrown him out of the car? What the hell had happened to him? Why the hell did his body feel like it had been put though a ten round boxing match with a pro? Why couldn't he remember anything that happened to him before last night?_

These questions turned themselves over and over in his head. Although; he did manage to slow them down and he attempted to think on one of them at a time.

In the midst of this hidden paradise of serenity and untainted beauty; there was but one artificial sight; almost hidden away; to see. The small bungalow; a shack to some people; sat back from the sea a good 75 yards or so. Set far enough back; that it was almost unseen by the rare few that ever found this tiny piece of the globe. The beauty of the sea; called to all who did happen upon this piece of paradise; keeping the bungalow lost in its shadow.

The loner had silently watched as the stranger had come down from the hidden place in the rocks and began wandering without any obvious intentions of moving on; back from where he'd come from. Shocked at having been caught off guard; The loner became uneasy and on edge; quickly picking up his binoculars for a better, more up close look at who had come calling.

The last time he'd been caught unaware; had been what seemed a lifetime ago. Until he knew whether this person was friend or foe' he remained on edge; his protection sitting next to him on the table by the door. Although this was a peaceful place; the life he'd lived brought many ghosts with it and he was never willing to be caught totally off guard. As a matter of fact; this was the most unprepared he'd been caught at; in a very long time.

Raising the spyware up to his eyes and focusing on the person in question; he had to hold steady with them for a while before the person turned away from the water well enough for him to get a good look. Seeing this man here; watching him wander without direction or purpose; raised a red flag for the loner. Looking once more thru the binoculars; he realized that this stranger seemed lost and almost frightened of his own shadow. It seemed like the man needed a helping hand. The loner dropped the binoculars from his eyes momentarily.

He raised them back up to his eyes once again. The stranger's eyes were piercingly green and even from this distance; looked almost vacant. The loner quickly calmed his nerves and began to watch the man carefully; scrutinizing him for signs of what was going on with him. There was something about him that seemed vaguely familiar

Apparently, the guy didn't know he wasn't alone. Putting his weapon away; he silently opened the screen door; and walked out onto his porch. Quietly The loner walked down toward the man; deliberately staying where he wouldn't be taking the man by surprise. When he got to within talking distance without the need to shout; he stopped and waited for the man to acknowledge that he'd seen him.

The man had seen the loner appear on the outskirts of his vision; and had subsequently watched his progress toward him. This man did not appear to be carrying a weapon; he didn't have a phone in his hand; in fact, he had nothing in his hands and his trousers had no pockets. The shirt he was wearing didn't have any pockets either; and having quickly determined that at least for the moment; this man appeared non-threatening; the man suddenly felt a glimmer of hope that maybe; just maybe; he'd found someone who could help him.

But something inside him; some petrified portion of his forgotten past; told him to trust no one; to run. And as he began to heed that voice; he heard the other one; the one that had come back to him yesterday; had pushed him; guided him.

"_Trust your instincts. You can trust him. He's a friend. He will give you the help you need."_

The stranger breathed a sigh of relief. He trusted that voice and that voice promised this inhabitant who was approaching him; was safe; a friend even. That was good enough for him. Pieces of his memory semed to be filtering through. He'd heard that voice before:

_Relax. Take it minute by minute  
__What did I tell you? Relax! stop giving your mind the chance to let you get buried under this  
____I know it hurts. I know right now, you don't know where you're gonna find the strength to go on. Don't give them this. You have to calm down  
"It's okay, now"  
Calm down. You need to relax_

All these comforting phrases came back to him in that same voice that had come to him in his moment of despair yesterday_. Yeah; he'd heard that voice before. That voice had kept him sane; kept him from giving up! That voice had saved his life!_

The loner waited as the man silently stopped his wanderings and looked at him; only briefly looking him in the eye; before looking him over from head to toe; apparently trying to figure out if he was someone to be trusted. The man was bone thin; wore deep lines of exhaustion around his eyes; and apparently hadn't had a shower or clean clothes on in a long time. His immediate needs were obvious; a good meal; a hot shower and shave; and sleep. The loner could handle that much; especially since the feeling that he knew this man was growing stronger with each passing minute.

As the mutual silent scrutiny wore on; the loner suddenly found himself having to act on reflexes long honed in his past work experiences; as the man seemed to suddenly just crumble in front of his eyes. Acting quickly; he caught the man as his legs gave out; and supported him around his shoulder and arms; as he walked him back toward the bungalow and finally began speaking to him.

"You don't look so well; I can feel your bones."

"Do you know who I am?" the man asked; confusion clearly written on his face.

"Don't you know who you are?" The loner asked his guest. Unwilling to give an answer beyond that until he was certain of this man's identity; he settled for evading the question.

"No, I do not.. I don't know who you are or where I am." the man admitted; his voice rising in what the loner could clearly make out; was rising panic. Quickly, he worked to calm the man down; encouraging him to breathe in and out calmly.

Once they'd gotten inside his home; the loner quickly put a plate of muffins he'd already heated up for his breakfast; in front of the man; along with a glass of milk. Encouraging him to eat his breakfast and drink the milk; he assisted him where he could; since the man's fingers weren't useful; and his exhausted state; left him with no energy or ability to feed himself.

The loner felt like he knew his guest. There was something familiar about him. Since he couldn't put his finger on what it was; he let it go for now and focused on doing whatever he could to help the guy out. After giving him something to eat; the loner helped him over to the couch and let him relax in the feeling of safety and security.

He didn't know why; but here in this stranger's humble house; he felt just that; safe and secure. He could only marvel that finally he'd found a helpful soul. Maybe, just maybe; his ordeal was coming to an end; a good one he hoped. Since that voice had promised him that this stranger was the help he needed; he chose to believe it; and relaxed.

"I know you don't know me; I also know that you realized you can trust me. I'm only here to help and I'll help you anyway that I can. That includes your need for a shower. And a shave? I have some clean clothes you can wear." his host said.

"A shower sounds like heaven. Actually a hot soak sounds more like heaven." he answered gratefully.

"All right; a hot soak it is. I'll let you know when it's ready."

"I don't think I could do it alone" he held up his damaged hands.

The loner went and filled up his tub with hot water and laid out towels and supplies for the man; before he helped him up off the couch. Helping him into the tub; was awkward; but not too bad; considering they didn't really know each other. The guy's desperate need for a soak moved things along fairly smoothly. Thankfully, the host's extended family had gone on an overnight visit to friends.

"Thank you." he felt humbled that a complete stranger would be willing to do that for someone they didn't know.

After he was done; he enlisted his host's help with a shave and a hair cut; hating all of the extra hair; he felt uncomfortable wearing. He looked a lot younger when they were done. He was pleased with the results; but exhausted once again.

Calling on every ounce of self-restraint he could harness; the loner kept his mouth shut and his face passive; all the while silently letting a wave of intense relief wash through him He _did_ know this man. And he had a name.

The loner helped the man to the guest room and watched as he immediately lay down on the bed and got as comfortable as possible; and fell asleep. He retrieved a light sheet; in case his apparent ill-health left him ill-equipped to deal with any kind of breeze; realizing the guy looked like any such breeze could knock him over. Taking a minute to look him over before he covered him with the sheet; he'd seen the broken fingers more closely; someone had obviously put this guy thru hell; the fingers had been broken before and had not healed properly; the bruises on his face and arms were pretty serious and probably just a drop in the bucket of other things wrong with him; judging by the looks of things. The loner breathed a sigh of relief; as he left the door cracked and left the room; anxious to get to the phone. Thankfully, he'd bought his family member a cell phone; which had been left for him to use while they were away. Otherwise; he'd a had to leave the stranger here; while he went to the nearest business to place the call.

After a few moments of contemplation; he knew he couldn't put it off any longer; this was a matter of life or death. Picking up the phone; he made the necessary call. The guy's admission of having no knowledge of who he was; where he presently at; coupled with his physical condition; left the loner with the belief that this information would need to be dealt with by a professional.

The loner let the stranger sleep as long as his body was able to. In the four and a half hours it had been since he had made the phone call; he felt anxious; put himself on guard duty; pacing the windows and doors. Somehow, he got the feeling that this kid wasn't gonna be completely safe until under someone else's roof. It helped that the poor guy's body was so gave out; he was working on his 5th hour of sleep; and help was; in all likelihood; already on a plane; on his way down to get him. The loner felt unsettled; like he'd just been drawn into this horrible drama that had befallen this guy**.**

He woke up in pain; but at least the pain in his stomach was gone. The loner had been nice enough to help him get something to eat; after letting him come into his home. As he slowly sat up; he groaned in pain; instantly bringing the man in from the kitchen.

"Hey. How you feeling?" his host asked him.

"Like I've been run over by a truck." he admitted.

"I've made a phone call to get you some help." The loner's words were of great comfort to the stranger.

"Thank you. "

"I know who you are, if you're interested." his host told him.

"Yes!"

"Here's a picture of you with your co-workers. See, your name is written underneath your photo. They are the help that is coming down here for you. If you want; I can fill you in on them before they get here."

"Yes. Please."

Thirty minutes later; the photo had been successfully explained and all questions asked. How soon do you think they'll get here?"

"You've got time to get more sleep before they do." He was reassured.

"Thank you." The stranger said as he made his way back to the guest room; quickly the young man was back in bed; once again sleeping.


	3. This Christmas Present Can't Be Wrapped

_A/N: Okay! Here it is ! This is your Christmas Present from me to all my loyal readers and reviewers._

_A very special 'Thank you!' goes out to my favorite Santa's helper - LabRatsRule. You rock!_

_Enjoy!_

_**********__

* * *

__"I'm glad you're here. This is gonna be a memorable Christmas for all of you, I promise you"_

* * *

Gibbs offered Mike a small smile of both greeting and gratitude as he also gave in to an embrace from his mentor and friend.

"Thanks, Mike. Don't know how much good company we'll be, but we appreciate what you're doin for us." Gibbs told him with the same pained quiet tone that hadn't left his voice since Tim's dissappearance and subsequent death. Leroy Jethro Gibbs was a different man now.

The rest of the team also offered Mike their quiet thanks and a handshake. With the exception, of course, of Abby. Her subdued hug and calm kiss on the cheek brought a smile to the old coger's face. He didn't remark on any of it though; their grief was still too painfully obvious to see. It was time to get them into the spirit of things.

"All right! There's your cabin. I figured you wanna go set it up the way you want it. Hell, go have some fun with some of that stuff that's in there for you. Just remember nobody leaves the beach without letting me, the Doc or Jethro know. And nobody hits the water alone or unwatched! I know you're all grown, but the rules go just the same!" Mike instructed.

As the younger set nodded their neads in unison and turned toward the outdoor set up, Gibbs and Ducky remained in their places.

"Doc, you wanna supervise the kids for me?" Mike asked the M.E. "At least for a few minutes?"

Taking the hint, Ducky agreed with a smile. "Certainly, Mike. I'll make sure they don't do anything foolish."

"Thanks, Duck." Gibbs offered, as he headed into the house with Mike.

Mike stopped him just inside the front door. "I got you down here so I could give all of you your Christmas present."

"Present? You couldn't have just mailed it to us?" Gibbs asked in confusion.

"Hell, Jethro! I couldn't even wrap it!" Mike hooted.

Gibbs puzzled look was priceless and Mike smiled at it. Determined to get a little more fun out of it, he told him, "You get to have first crack at it. Close your eyes."

"Mike!"

"Just do it, Jethro!" Mike ordered

"Sure, okay. Closin my eyes." Gibbs gave in with a sigh of resignation.

With Gibbs eyes closed, Mike propelled him into the living room and brought him to a stop. "Reach out and grab the chair in front of you." Mike told him.

With growing impatience, Gibbs did what Mike told him to do and grasped the chair by the top rail.

"All right, Gibbs, open your eyes!" Mike told him quietly.

Taking a second to wonder about both the sudden change in names Mike used and by the the sudden quietness of his voice, Gibbs finally opened his eyes.

and felt his knees buckle as he took in the sight in front of him.

* * *

Outside on the beach, the younger adults were setting up sleeping sections and cookware, looking over the sporting equipment and the vast array of fishing equipment. There was something there to keep them all busy and content. As Ducky watched over them from his spot in the hammock, he marveled at the idea of Christmas in Mexico. Who would have ever thought this would ever happen?

These guys had been so devastated by the loss of their teammate, even Ducky wasn't sure they'd ever recover. He knew they were strong, both in character and in constitutional make up. But, even strong men stumble but time, they hadn't just stumbled, they'd fallen. As hard and painful as it had been for the M.E., it was made even more so by seeing how badly the others were affected. It wan't that he didn't expect them to feel this way; but it was beginning to look like the wouldn't be able to pick themselves back up. Ducky had never seen Jethro so affected, so bereft; since Kate's death. But even then, the Senior Agent had kept going. But, then again, he'd had the responsible party to track down and take care of then, too. With Timothy's death, he'd not had that satisfaction. He'd been left with nothing but his grief, guilt, anger, and sorrow. And from the looks of things, none of that was going away or even lessening any time soon. As Ducky continued to think about the situation at hand, his cell phone rang.

"Jethro?" why would he call him from just inside the house?

"Duck. Come inside. Alone. Give them something to do, but don't let them go in the water yet." Gibbs cryptically instructed the M.E.

"Certainly, Jethro." Ducky agreed. Closing his phone, He turned to the others and told them to fix themselves some dinner on Gibbs' order. Gibbs would call them when he was ready for them to come in for their Christmas present from Mike. Ducky had thrown that last part in out of his head.

Ducky headed into the house. As the door closed behind him, Gibbs appeared at his side. "Duck, Mike brought us down here to give us our Christmas present. Said he couldn't mail it because he couldn't even wrap it." the younger man explained.

"Certainly sounds intriguing." Ducky allowed.

"Close your eyes, Duck." Gibbs told him.

"What? Jethro!"

"Ducky, just do it, will ya?" Gibbs asked with impatience.

"Oh, all right, but I must say, this is certainly one for the record keeping books, Jethro," Ducky gave in.

"I know, Duck." Gibbs said with a slight grin.

As he mimicked for Ducky what Mike had done for him; he too, watched from the side, as Ducky opened his eyes when given the okay; and also nearly buckled to the floor at the sight before him.

As he watched Ducky's reaction, Gibbs marveled at the almost identical reaction from the M.E. that he'd just had himself, a few short moments ago:

* * *

_TIM!_

"_Tim? " Gibbs broken voice spoke volumes of the emotion within the question._

_For a long minute, Gibbs fought to keep his breathing steady as his heart pounded in his chest and his mind struggled to accept the truth in front of him. Finally, he couldn't keep the questions at bay any longer. He had to know._

_"Mike how is this possible? Where did you find him? This isn't possible! But, there's no doubt about it, it's you! Oh, Tim! You're alive!" Gibbs couldn't stop the words, the shock and the sheer relief and joy just carrying them away. It was all he could do to stay where he was, not wanting to spook his long lost surrogate son._

_"Gibbs?" Tim's voice was hesitant and so was his look, first looking to Mike for confirmation, then down at the photo in his hand._

_That voice. That was the voice that had carried him through it all, stayed in his head, saved his life! Gibbs had never left him!_

_Suddenly, overwelmed with gratitude for this man and thankfulness to be standing in front of him again, and to be alive; Tim launched himself into Gibbs' arms._

_As he quickly stepped out around the chair to meet Tim halfway; Leroy Jethro Gibbs had never been more relieved to hug someone in his entire life._

_Feeling Tim's frailness, he quickly adjusted the strength of his embrace and with tears in his eyes; began talking to him. "So, glad you're alive. Oh, God, Tim, we thought you were dead. Oh, Thank God we were only duped into believing it. Thank God you're alive!"_

_Tim hugged Gibbs with the love and thankfullness of a long lost child hugging finally finding his father again. Neither had any intention of letting go._

_"So, whatta ya think of your Christmas Present, Jethro?" Mike asked with a grin._

* * *

"Timothy! Oh, dear heavens, you're alive! Oh, thank God!"

With the same hesitancy he'd shown about Gibbs, Tim looked now to both Mike and Gibbs for confirmation.

"Ducky?"

Oh, dear. Do you not know who we are, my dear boy? Ducky asked in disappointment.

"Doc, he doesn't know who he is. Doesn't know where he is, how he got here, who you are, except what I've told him and shown him from that photo your lab rat sent me from before he went missing." Mike explained.

"Then why were you able to hug me like you did, Tim" Gibbs asked gently.

"Because _you_ never left me." Tim answered honestly and with conviction.

"I don't understand." Gibbs apologetically told him.

"Your voice. It spoke to me lots of times, I heard you loud and clear."

"What did my voice say to you?" Gibbs was a little concerned.

"To keep going. To not give up. Not to stop until I was safe. That Mike was a friend. Not to run from him. Things like that." Tim told him in a quiet voice.

Gibbs thought about this and reflected with gratitude that he'd somehow, miraculously been able to be there to help Tim through this and ultimately help him feel safe with him again. _Thank God! and thank you for giving him back to us. We won't let him down this time!_

"I'm really glad you were able to hear my voice, Tim. Relieved that you had help to see you through." Gibbs encouraged with the first genuine smile seen crossing his face in more than 2 months.

After giving Ducky and Tim a few moments to reconnect, Gibbs stepped in. "Tim, we need Ducky to check you over. We need to see what kind of medical help you might need, okay?" Gibbs asked. He knew that Tim wasn't a child, but couldn't help but treat him as such, at least until he could see that the young man was comfortable around them.

"Okay." Tim agreed solomnly.

"All right. After he's done checking you over; do you think you can face the rest of the team? They've all been devastated because we thought you were dead" Gibbs asked him.

"Yes. I can do it. You'll be here with me?" Tim's plaintive question touched Gibbs. Already, the young man was looking to anchor himself to Gibbs. The Senior agent accepted that with relief and gratitude.

"Yeah, Tim. I'm not leaving you. I'll be here." Gibbs promised solomnly.

* * *

Outside on the beach, the younger crew were making their way through dinner, Thrown together sandwiches from stuff in the cooler, nothing fancy. As they were finishing up and cleaning up, Gibbs stepped out of the house and made his way over to them, carefully putting on his straight serious face.

"Hey, Boss. You all right?" Tony asked. "You were in there a long time and now you've got Ducky in there. Everything okay?"

"Yeah, DiNozzo. Everything's fine. Listen, all of you. The reason we're down here is because Mike Franks decided we needed a Christmas present. Come on, he wants to give it to you now," Gibbs cryptically explained, as he had to Ducky.

"Wait, why couldn't he have just mailed it?" Abby asked as they neared the front door of the house.

Waiting until they were all inside, Gibbs answered. "In his words? "Hell, he couldn't even wrap it! " Gibbs' answer got some chuckles in response.

"Our present is fragile" Gibbs warned. "Handle it with extreme care!"

"Okay." came four unified voices in response.

"Close your eyes, all of you!" Gibbs instructed. And as he set about once again duplicating the steps Mike had taken with him; he soon had all of them, Ziva, Abby, Tony and Jimmy; all lined up like ducks in a row. Only this time, because there were so many of them and only one present; Gibbs lined them up in front of the couch, so they could hit the couch if they needed to.

As Ducky, Mike and Gibbs watched from the side, Gibbs instructed the group to open their eyes- and watched with abject amusement and joy as four mouths hit the floor and four sets of knees damn near buckled.

As pandemonium broke out,

_**Tim?**_

_**Tim?**_

_**Probie?**_

_**Agent McGee?**_

Gibbs brought them all to a standstill with his attention calling whistle. "Easy! Yes, there is no doubt. It's Tim. But, he doesn't remember anything right now. The only thing he has to go on is the photo Mike got from Abby. All three of his team mates used every ounce of self restraint they possessed to hold themselves in their places; anxious to hear the okay they needed to step up and wrap their long lost little brother in a hug and welcome him back to the land of the living. Even Jimmy found himself itching to hug the guy.

"And the things you said to me while I was missing." Tim reminded him as he got up from his seat in the recliner a few feet from him.

"Right." Gibbs answered him with a smile as the young man came to stand next to him.

"What?" Tony was baffled.

"I don't remember anything except Gibbs' voice encouraging me, telling me things that kept me going." Tim explained.

"Wow, Gibbs! I didn't you could do that!" Abby exclaimed.

"I didn't either, Abby. But I'm damned glad it happened." Gibbs said.

"Tim, can we hug you now, please?" Abby begged.

"Sure, Abby. I would like that." Tim answered her with a smile.

As Abby hugged him carefully, the tears of relief finally flowed. "Oh, God, I'm so happy you're alive, you just don't know!"

"Thank you, Abby." Tim responded, grateful he was obviously missed and loved. Hopefully, they would take him back and help him find his way. As Abby finally gave up her hug; knowing the rest of them needed to touch him and feel that he was real and alive; Ziva quickly stepped up.

"Tim, I am relieved to see that you are not dead, as we had been led to believe." Ziva said with tears in her eyes.

"Thank you, Ziva." Tim answered with sincerety and a smile.

"Tim McGee, I have never been more happy to see anyone in my entire life!" Tony exclaimed as he wrapped Tim in an embrace; grateful beyond measure to feel him alive and breathing. Here and now, in the flesh. "Man, am I glad to see you! Now I don't have to muddle through that stupid manual of yours anymore!" Tony joked.

_*smack*_

"Thanks Boss!" Tony gave back to Gibbs' delivered head smack.

"Manual?" Tim asked in puzzlement.

"Don't worry about it, Tim. I was just playin." Tony rectified.

"Oh. Okay." Tim answered, still puzzled but willing to let it go.

"Tim? I'm really happy you're alive!" Jimmy offered. He still felt uncomfortable with these guys. He wasn't as close to them as they were with each other and it showed.

"Jimmy? Thank you." Tim gave back.

"It's time for Tim to rest." Ducky declared.

"First, Tim needs to eat." Gibbs put his foot down. "I know you said he'd be okay without an emergency trip to the hospital, Duck, I wanna keep it that way."

" Of course, Jethro." Ducky answered.

"And then, I want him seen at the hospital .

Tim suddenly tensed up and stepped closer to Gibbs, almost melting into the older man.

"Hey, it's gonna be okay, Tim. The hospital's gonna make sure they do everything they can to fix your hands and ease your pain, all right? There's nothing to worry about." Gibbs soothed as he wrapped his arm around Tim's shoulder carefully.

Although Tim nodded in silent understanding, he did not move from Gibbs' side. Even when Gibbs began talking to the rest of them, Tim didn't budge. Gibbs didn't move either. He gratefully gave the young man whatever sense of security he obviously felt and received from Gibbs.

"I want to make sure he takes it easy until we take him to get taken seen at the hospital, Jethro." The M.E. put his foot down.

"Duck, there's one more person that needs to talk to him." Gibbs spoke up.

"Jethro?" Ducky was confused.

"Abby, bring me your laptop. "Ziva call the Director, let me talk to her when you locate her." the bossman directed.

"Okay." Abby bounced up from her seat on the couch and ran outside to fetch the laptop.

Tony stood by, watching Tim carefully, noting how scared he looked and seemed to only relax when he was in close proximitry to Gibbs, Ducky or Mike.

Ziva called Jenny; reaching her easily on her cell phone. As she handed the phone to Gibbs, they all listened, curious as to how this was going to play out. It should prove to be Director Shepard's most memorable Christmas, as well as theirs.

"Jen?"

"Jethro, is something wrong?"

No, Jen. Nothing's wrong. Where are you?" Gibbs asked cryptically.

"Work."

"Got something you need to see."

"See?"

Yeah, you near your computer?"

I'm in MTAC, go ahead, Jethro you're patched through. What is it?

"Our Christmas present from Mike. We thought we'd share it with you." Gibbs said with a smile as he stepped out of the way and watched with the same joy and amusement as he'd experienced earlier, and now the rest of his team felt it too as they also watched the Director's mouth drop and her knees give way. Seeing her plop down in the chair behind her was hilarious.

_"Tim?"_

At her cry, the techies assisting her in MTAC, stood up from their seats and looked at the screen. _Special Agent Tim McGee, alive and not quite so well, but, alive!_

Cheers and applause abounded in MTAC and while Jenny stood in shock, staring at her long lost agent, the room behind her somehow suddenly filled with agents and staff people alike; all of them equally cheering and applauding the sight in front of them.

Tim was overwhelmed at what he was seeing. So many people so obviously happy to see him alive! Wow.

"Ow!" suddenly, in front of everyone watching both in the house in Mexico and in MTAC, Tim recieved his first "Gibbs-slap" since he'd gone missing. As he shook the slap off, Ziva watched and waited to see if it would work for Tim like it had worked for Gibbs.

As Tim opened his eyes after shaking his head to recover from the slap, he suddenly grew still. Since Gibbs' still hadn't let go of his shoulder, he felt Tim tense up. He hadn't let go of him yet, even when Ziva slapped him; because he could sense his agent was still very scared. There was a lot going on, and it had quickly gotten out of hand. Was it too much for him? Is that why Tim was getting so uptight? Gibbs wondered; getting ready to put a stop to the whole thing. He didn't know how without being mean or rude. All of NCIS deserved this reunion. Still, if Tim was getting freaked out..."

He knew these people! All of them cheering and applauding him? He knew them! He knew their names! The people around him? he knew them! He remembered them. Tim had to say something fast. Speaking up, he threw all of them into a startled silence as he opened his mouth.

"Director Shepard, Agent Jones, Agent Conner, Alex Reed..." As Tim named every person staring at him from MTAC, his team in the same room with him beamed smiles of relief. Yeah, once again, the ole "Gibbs-smack" had saved the day. Their little brother had his memory back!

As he turned to Gibbs; Gibbs smiled back at him, and the whole of NCIS and his team right next to him saw the smile that lit both rooms. Leroy Jethro Gibbs had his boy back from the dead and all was right with the world.

Yes, Indeed. this was gonna be the most memorable Christmas any of them had ever had!

tbc.

* * *

A/N: What's in store for Tim while he awaits news of why he's in so much pain? How much does he remember? Will he be able to handle what memory he does or doesn't have?

Stay tuned to find out. After a short Christmas Holiday break.

Merry Christmas, everyone!


	4. Chapter 4

_A/N: A very special thank you goes out to my co-writer, LabRatsRule! As usual, you rock!_

* * *

Since it was December 23, still two days from Christmas, Gibbs felt fairly confident that they could get Tim checked out by the doctors and back home to Mike's in time for Christmas. They'd take him home with them when they left, of that there was no doubt. As he and Ducky headed out the door with Tim, the rest of his team stampeded right behind him, fully intent on going too. About to put his foot down and refuse, he stopped himself, remembering how deeply they'd all grieved for this man, their teammate. After everything his team had been through, they all deserved to be with Tim as much as they wanted to, especially if Tim had no objection and showed no discomfort over the idea. Gibbs didn't have the heart to tell them no. He knew that they could all see how traumatized Tim was and that they would temper their actions accordingly without even having to be told.

Surprisingly enough, the limo was once again waiting for them as they all stepped outside Mike's house. The ride to the hospital was a quiet one, as Tim was resting with his head propped up against the window, with Gibbs sitting next to him. No one wanted to disturb him. He had steadfastly remained glued to Gibbs' side, a hair shy of being Velcroed to him, even though his memory of things and people before he'd been kidnapped seemed to have returned with no gaps that he knew of. Somehow, along his way through whatever harrowing journey he'd been on, had taken his ability to feel safe around anyone, except Gibbs, Ducky or Mike, away from him. It didn't really matter which one, but predominately, Gibbs. Even if Ducky or Mike was with the group, where Gibbs was, there Tim stayed glued. It was a sad sight. Tim McGee had once been such a trusting soul, believing the best in everyone, but able to stand on his own two feet. Now, he obviously trusted almost no one, felt safe only around a chosen few.

Gibbs was concerned. Since Tim had been glued to his side when Ziva slapped him, he'd been unable to see Tim's inner reaction, not able to see his eyes and what might have showed there. It had been a slap that normally would have done Gibbs proud. Although it had achieved what Ziva had set out to do, Gibbs had been angry at her methods. Since it produced the desired results though, his anger was quickly cooling. The fact that Tim didn't seem to even be thinking about the slap anymore was easing Gibbs' worry about and making room for other concerns to come to the forefront of his mind.

As the limo slid into the parking space and stopped, the group unfolded itself from the car and left room for Gibbs to get Tim awake and moving. Ducky immediately headed into the hospital in search for the Dr. Peters he'd already spoken with over the phone, anxious to get things started for Timothy. As the group headed toward the waiting room of the hospital, Tim hung back, literally matching his steps to Gibbs', visibly more scared now than he had been when the hospital was first mentioned back at the house.

Mike had stayed at the house. He'd known the limo would be crowded and he hated hospitals. The retired agent also knew Tim was in the best hands possible. It was time to let go and let his team have him back. They all needed this.

As Tim was shown into an examination room, Ducky accompanied him at Gibbs insistance. Gibbs promised Tim that Ducky was the best person to be in with him and the doctor and that he would be right outside, waiting until the doctor was finished checking him out. Tim had meekly gone along with it. No one had missed the way Tim had struggled over that turn of events. The poor kid had only settled into the decision, when Ducky had promised to go out and get Gibbs the minute the doctor was finished checking him over. As Ducky started to follow Tim into the room, Gibbs pulled on his arm, stopped him for a second and whispered something in his ear. When Ducky turned his shocked eyes on Gibbs, the younger man simply gave him one of his patented stares. Ducky, of course, understood what that meant. No discussion, no room to not do as Gibbs had just requested. Silently nodding his head, Ducky went into the room with their patient.

Gibbs breathed a sigh of both relief and frustration. He was so far beyond relieved that his agent was actually alive and had an obviously great deal of memory back. But, he couldn't help but feel that relief compromised with frustration at the state Tim was in. The poor kid was obviously so traumatized he'd undoubtedly not ever find the joy in life that he'd found before. How much did he remember? How much pain would he go through when he had time to process what he'd actually lived through? Would they be able to get him to a place where he was comfortable in his own skin? And, what would the results of what Gibbs had just asked Ducky to make sure got done be? How private could they keep it? So many questions were crowding Gibbs' mind, he was still hearing new ones in his head when Ducky came back out.

"Jethro. Timothy's examination is completed. You can come back in now. Timothy requested the doctor hold his diagnosis until you do."

Gibbs accompanied Ducky back into Tim's room. As the Doctor saw them come in, he opened Tim's chart and began his report patiently, as if he were speaking to a young teenager.

"Mr. McGee, as I'm sure you are well aware, your fingers are broken and in need of setting. We will need to give you anesthesia and let you be asleep for that procedure; especially since they've obviously been broken before and not set properly. You will need pins because you have multiple breaks in each finger. You do not seem to have tendon, ligament or nerve damage that would require a very extensive surgery. Thankfully, the nerves are not severed, but merely bruised. You injuries are more akin to a jigsaw puzzle, with some pins and casting, your hands should be fine. Unfortunately, you should know there will most likely be an ongoing problem for you now, as improper bone healing often leads to arthritis fairly quickly and severely.

Your kidneys are severely bruised and you have two bruised ribs. My recommendation is complete bed rest for at least a week. No physical activities. I see by your chart that your vital signs are less than great, so I want you to avoid stress, too. Your body is severely malnourished, also. Dr. Mallard has promised me that he will take care to see that your nutritional needs will be seen to very carefully. I understand that you will need to travel soon, to go back to your home. I will trust Dr. Mallard to make the call on that as well."

"Okay." Tim said softly as he watched Gibbs take in everything the Doctor was saying about him. He wasn't too concerned about the prognosis, as none of it was confining him to the hospital and none of it was life threatening. This meant he could go home. Home. Did he have a home? Had he been gone so long that he had nothing left to go back to? Suddenly, he felt a fresh wave of fear roll through him.

As Gibbs listened to the Doctor's prognosis, he watched Tim from the corner of his eye. He didn't want him to realize he was under scrutiny but needed to be able to read how expressive Tim's eyes were after everything he'd been through, if they still were at all. Sure enough, thankfully, the young man's eyes, at least when he wasn't aware he was being watched, were still the windows to his soul. Right now, fear was flowing through him and Gibbs needed to know why.

Gibbs spoke up, "Doctor, this mean he's clear to come back home with us?"

"Yes, Agent Gibbs, he's clear to go, as soon as we set his fingers; so long as he is taken care of in the manner I have just directed." the doctor replied. "I will be giving you prescriptions for pain meds for him, also. The work on his hands will take some time. However, we will use one of the shorter acting anesthetics; Versed, in conjunction with Nitrous Oxide and Oxygen. With this combo you'll wake up nicely and not groggy and pukey for days and you'll get to go home right away"_._

"We'll be here when he gets back. We're not going anywhere." Gibbs vowed. "I need a word with you." Looking at Tim, he told him quietly. "I'll just be a minute and Ducky's gonna be with you while I'm right outside."

Tim nodded gratefully. He knew that it was wrong for him to constantly need to be near the ones he felt safe with, this constant nearness had to be wrong, but he couldn't help it. If he couldn't see them, it was like he was back out there in the cold world, alone, nameless, clueless and completely lost. It was a feeling he never wanted to experience again. Sure, he remembered his team mates, but for some unfathomable reason he couldn't remember, he didn't feel even close to the same measure of safe around them. Tim didn't want to be hurting anyone's feelings and that was something else that was plaguing him. He knew they all loved him, that much had been obvious in their blatant joy at the sight of him alive. With the fear of what was or wasn't waiting for him back 'home' and the certainty that he was hurting the people around him without meaning to, Tim was quickly becoming distressed. What he didn't realize is that the more he strove to hide it, the more apparent it became.

As Gibbs stepped out to speak to the Doctor, needing the confidentiality to do so, Ducky remained with Timothy and steadily attempted to calm him.

"Timothy, it's quite all right. Why don't you tell me what's upsetting you at the moment?"

"I'm okay." Tim refused to discuss it; after all, he was trying to hide it.

"All right; do you think you can close your eyes and rest for a few moments?" Ducky asked with compassion, unwilling to push the young man in any way.

"I can try." Tim conceded. He knew he wouldn't succeed at it, but he also knew it would give him the chance to not have to worry about hurting anyone or hiding anything. As he complied with Ducky's suggestion; he felt himself begin to relax for the first time since they'd arrived at the hospital.

* * *

The doctor quietly came back into the room and gave Tim his anesthesia intravenously as the young man quietly rested. The less attention called to what was going on, the more likely he'd be able to remain calm and relaxed. As Gibbs and Ducky watched silently, Tim was allowed a few minutes to actually go under before he was wheeled away to the operating room where they would work on his hands.

While they waited, the team quietly talked about their observations regarding Tim. Every one of them had concerns and it was good that they talked about it as a group. They'd be able to help Tim better if they were all informed and advised.

"Jethro, Timothy was quite distressed before you came back in. I could not get him to tell me what was bothering him. I did not want to push him to talk so I suggested he lie back and rest." Ducky opened up the floor.

"That was probably for the best, Duck. I could see he was getting upset before I stepped out to talk to the Doctor. If I'm not mistaken he's scared about going home. When the doc mentioned going home,. Tim's eyes immediately filled with fear."

"But, Gibbs, since we don't know exactly how much he remembers, how are we gonna know what's bothering him?" Abby asked in frustration.

"We take it slow. Take our cues from Tim. Watch his reactions, but not too closely, don't want him to feel like he's under a microscope. It's pretty obvious he feels safe around Mike, Ducky and myself right now. So, let us talk to him and the rest of you just try to draw him out into doing things together as a group. No personal questions from you." Gibbs seriously instructed the group.

"Yes, and if you see any signs of distress or pain, you let us know." Ducky added.

"Of course, Ducky, but it's not likely that we would see it before you guys, given the way he won't let you or Mike or Gibbs outta his sight, unless one of you stays with him." Tony reminded the M.E. in a tone that mixed resignation with anger.

Gibbs understood where Tony was coming from, to a degree. And he felt for him and the rest of them too. But he felt for Tim even more. Knowing his team; he was sure they did, too. Gibbs had faith in them that they would help each other find their way in this recovery process for Tim.

What he hadn't figured out was how to make sure Tim didn't have to see or even find out about the video tapes; any of them. Just as important, how could he dispose of the ones on Tim's laptop without anyone finding them?

As the group's discussion became more 'what we can do as a group for Tim' discussion and less of a 'what are our instructions' discussion, Gibbs and Ducky took themselves away from the team so they could talk.

"Gotta ask you something, Duck." Gibbs admitted.

"Jethro, if it's concerning those tests you instructed me to insure they completed on Timothy, the answer is no. I do not need to know any details in order to remain his treating physician. If what you fear is indeed a reality, then I will need to know. Only then." Ducky responded.

"Duck." The younger man's tone was full of apology, but dedication to his former refusal to make Tim's private business anything but private.

"Jethro, you do not have to explain anything. I understand completely." Ducky promised.

"Yeah, Duck. I do. I cant…" Gibbs floundered, suddenly weighed down with the burden of those private emails and the videos within them. "I need to tell you." He didn't want to remind Tony or even bring the subject up with Jenny. And given that she wasn't here anyway, he was hoping that she'd never have to address the issue again either. But, he knew that was an unreasonable expectation, especially if they were to find a way to put it all under layers of locks and keys.

"From all appearances, it would seem that you're not sure you want to tell me. I'm listening when you're ready."

Quietly, Gibbs gave Ducky the rundown on what he was struggling with. He kept it as basic and non-descriptive as possible. As he finished what he needed to say; he ended the conversation with his major concern.

"Duck, I don't have to tell you that I don't want Tim finding out, ever. But, there's always a chance that he'll remember or put the pieces together for himself. Hell, we're not even sure of everything he does remember. I don't want him to ever see any of it. But, it's all part of his case file! I'm not concerned with the ones that aren't part of the case file near as much as the ones that are."

"Jethro, you need to discuss this with Jennifer." Ducky told him.

"Yeah, Duck, I know." Gibbs admitted with a sigh of frustration.

"And I believe the sooner, the better, Jethro. You do not want to have to be attempting to take care of this while getting Timothy settled in.

"Yeah, Duck. I know, you're right, Duck, call that Doctor who was helping Tim before we lost him. Bring him up to speed, ask him if he'll be available for Tim when we get back." Gibbs instructed with hope. "Ask him to consult with us, keep us from making this worse for him. Maybe Jen will let us teleconference with him before we get back. I don't want to rush back, but then again, I don't know how comfortable Tim is here. We'll have to wait and see on that."

"Dr. Wilson! He should prove to be very helpful! You have at least an hour before they will be done with Timothy. I'm certain he will sleep for at least an hour after that as well." Ducky suggested.

"Yeah. Okay. I'm going for more coffee and a phone call. Stay with them, Duck. If Tim gets back before I do, come get me." Gibbs instructed before he walked out.

Thirty minutes and long phone calls later, Gibbs was back with a few things taken care of. Looking around at the dozing group, he couldn't help but notice their exhaustion. Yeah, but every one of em looked a whole lot more at peace now than they had before this trip; there was no doubt about it.

Looking around for Ducky, he located him coming back from the nurse's station with a pleased look on his face.

"Duck?" Gibbs asked quietly, not wanting to wake his team.

"Jethro, Timothy is on his way out of surgery and will be in a recovery room for the next two hours. If all goes well, we can take him home with us then." Ducky advised.

"Any problems?" Gibbs asked cautiously.

"No, Jethro, they had no complications and Timothy's hands should heal completely, although he will have to work hard to regain full dexterity

"Duck! Computers are his life!" Gibbs was horrified that this young man would be forced to endure yet even more pain and adjustments in his life because of this nightmare.

"No, Jethro, computers are only a large part of his life. Let's not borrow trouble for him or let anyone else do it, either." Ducky softly admonished him.

"How soon will they let me go back there? I don't want him waking up alone!" Gibbs quickly shifted his focus onto the more immediate situation.

"In just a few moments. Relax, Jethro, Timothy is still asleep" Ducky promised him.

"Ducky, I don't want him alone for a second! He's too fragile right now!"

"I promise you, Jethro, we will not let him awaken alone. His doctor promised to come get us just as soon as they have finished settling him into his room. Look, here he is now." Ducky pointed out.

Gibbs practically ran to meet the Doctor, not wanting to wait another minute. He was truly worried that Tim would wake up alone and be forced to handle being alone in a strange room on top of it. "What room number?" Gibbs demanded.

"Agent Gibbs…"

_"No! He's just come back from months of God knows what kind of abuse and whatever else his kidnappers did to him! He does not need to be left alone to think no one is here for him, even for a second! What. Is. His. Room. Number?"_ Gibbs pushed, his voice soft but deadly. This doctor was messin' with the wrong Marine!

"Room 212." The doctor allowed and stepped back as Gibbs practically flew down the hall.

Reaching Tim's room after what seemed like an eternity, Gibbs forced himself to calm down before he stepped in. As he finally stepped in and laid eyes once more on his miraculously alive agent, Gibbs breathed out a sigh of relief. And as it soon became apparent that the young man had indeed remained asleep and was still in slumberland, Gibbs allowed himself another sigh of relief. Stepping back out into the hall, he quickly called Tony to let him know the updated condition of their teammate. He suggested if they wanted to see for themselves that he was okay, they should do it before he woke up.

As he stepped back into the room and sat down next to the bed, he couldn't help but look his agent over carefully, unable to take his eyes off him. _God, and to think they were getting a second chance to have him in their lives_!


	5. Chapter 5

As the team came into Tim's room and satisfied their need to see that he was indeed okay and his hands had been taken care of, Gibbs kept their visit quiet and waited until Tim began to show signs of waking up before he shooed them back out quickly. He didn't want the poor kid waking up to the whole group surrounding him after everything he'd been through, it would surely scare the hell outta him. With the promise that they'd be leaving just as soon as they had the doc's permission, the team cooperated with the boss' order to leave Tim to wake up in peace.

Tim woke up momentarily disoriented. The panic that crossed his mind threatened to steal his breath from him, until he heard that voice, once again calling to him through the fog that surrounded his mind. _Thank God! That voice! Gibbs!_ As he opened his eyes and sought those of his blue-eyed anchor that hadn't let him down yet, Tim felt the panic leave him. Not sure what to say, he stayed quiet as he looked at Gibbs, waiting to hear what was coming next.

"Hey, Tim." Gibbs quietly greeted him.

"What happened?" the young man asked anxiously.

"Ssh. Relax. Everything's okay. The doctors just fixed your fingers like they told you they would." Gibbs told him calmly.

"Already?" Tim's disbelief was comical in light if the anxiety that could have arisen.

"Yeah. Already." Gibbs said with a grin. "How do you feel, Tim?" Gibbs asked quietly. He felt it was important to repeat the young man's name more than usual at least for a while. Something told him it was important.

"Strange, but okay." Tim said in a near whisper. Fear and worry were climbing back into his brain and beginning to make themselves visible on his face as well.

"Strange, how?" Gibbs gently pushed him to open up.

It's hard to explain." Tim replied apologetically.

"It's okay. Whatever you're feeling or need to say is okay." Gibbs promised with a sympathetic tone and a steadying gaze that held Tim's doubt filled ones until the young man was able to find enough trust to believe the silver haired man who hadn't left him or let him down since he'd gotten there. Once he'd found that place of trust, the transformation was remarkable. Almost instantly, the fear seemed to fade away from the young man's eyes and his body seemed to relax.

"How long have I been missing? I mean has it been so long that I don't have a home?" Tim asked painfully, the source at least part of his stress, now revealed, seemed to take even more weight off his shoulders.

His voice was such a quiet entity now, it was sad to realize that this was the new Tim McGee, at least for now. But, that sadness was quickly erased by the sheer joy that his agent was alive and back with the people who cared about him and loved him. Gibbs had to keep shoving that reminder in front of everything else that was running through his brain. He felt his heart break all over again for this young man as he watched how the asking of that question affected Tim.

"You have a home. I promise you." with the strength of a papa bear claiming his cub back from the wild, Gibbs refused to let any other answer be heard. Hell would freeze over before Gibbs would let Tim feel anything but welcome. Getting into the details, however, was a different story. That wasn't gonna happen until they got home to D.C., if Gibbs had anything to say about it. Quickly, he aimed to turn the subject just enough to avoid that particular set of pitfalls.

"Are you comfortable at Mike's? Are you okay with staying there for the next week? It would be better to give your body at least that long to recuperate before we try to fly home."

"I'm okay there. He's been good to me." Tim answered with an obvious struggle to keep any emotion out of his voice and even off his face. "Where will you be?"

"Tim, I promised you I wouldn't leave you and I meant it." Gibbs reminded him, surprised that Tim would think anything different. But then again, after what he'd been through, hell, just what they knew of, it was no wonder this Tim was almost unfathomable. They'd have to learn who he is all over again. Carefully.

"Okay." Tim answered with enough relief in his tone, that Gibbs knew what he'd really wanted to say had been, "Good."

"Are you still tired? You've got at least another hour before they let you outta here. Do you wanna sleep or do you think you're up to letting the team visit with you?"

Tim's eyes once again filled with worry and for once he didn't answer the question put to him.

"What is it?" Gibbs asked.

"How can they wanna see me?" Tim whispered.

"Whattaya mean? They're anxious to see you." Gibbs answered. "What's going on?"

"I know they see that I'm not as comfortable around them as they expect me to be." Tim admitted with guilt.

"Tim, listen to me, all right?" Gibbs asked quietly but with enough authority, Tim did as he was directed. "No one is upset with you because you're not comfortable around them yet. Every one of us understands that you need us to take things at your speed."

"I can't think straight!" Tim expelled on a frustrated sigh.

"Tim. Relax. There's no need to push yourself. Why don't you just get some rest until they let you check out?" Gibbs suggested.

"I can't." the young man complained sorrowfully.

"Why not? the surprised question seemed to bring about an immediate change in Tim's demeanor. Almost instantly, his eyes clouded over, his shoulders slouched and began shaking as tears filled his eyes and began trailing down his face.

"Tim? Talk to me, what is it?" Gibbs sat down on his bed where he could reach out and touch the young man as he encouraged him to let it out.

"Every time I close my eyes, I'm back there!" Tim cried, as his tears flowed, the reliving of those horrible moments when he awoke on that hill, in pain and alone, not even knowing his own name. The most petrifying moments of his remembered life, before that saving voice had found him.

"Ssh... It's okay now. C'mere." Gibbs soothed as he pulled him into an embrace, grounding him to physical and mental support as he encouraged him to let it all out. "Let it go, son. Get it out."

As the time slipped by, the two of them sat meshed in pain, sorrow, grief and even overwhelming relief. Gibbs sat on the hospital bed of his long lost agent cum surrogate son, holding him through the tidal wave crashing through him, flushing out the pain and suffering, fear and worry he'd lived through, whatever parts of it he remembered. As the young man's shoulders shook with the depth of his pain, the older man felt his own tears slip down his face in heartbreak and regret for what his agent had been through, all because they'd failed to find him in time.

It seemed like an eternity before Tim's tears dried, his shoulders stopped shaking and his body relaxed, as his overwhelmed mind finally allowed sleep to take over. Gibbs gently laid him back against his bed and covered him with a blanket. Slipping off the bed, he slid into the chair nearby and watched over him as he slept.

As hard as it was to shove the guilt he felt for what Tim had been through back down under everything else, Gibbs knew he had to do it. They all had to; had to put it all away and concentrate on Tim's needs, if they were gonna be successful in helping this young man find his way back to some semblance of normalcy in his life.


	6. Chapter 6

_A/N: I apologise for the delay with this update.  
Special Thanks and my gratitude goes out to LabsRatRule for your unfailing help and support. It's no surprise by now, but, YOU ROCK!!!_

_Enoy!_

* * *

Two hours later found the group once again back at Mike's house. The first order of business had been taking care of Tim. With Tim fed and medicated for the pain, he was once again sleeping peacefully, only after Gibbs had stayed with him until he fell asleep. Tim had asked to talk to him about his fear of what was waiting for him in his dreams.

When Gibbs quietly suggested that talking about might make it easier for Tim's mind to deal with it and not keep going back there in his sleep, it had taken a long moment of silent consideration before Tim had nodded in agreement. As he began sharing what was plaguing him, Tim had looked like a lost little boy, determined to tell his father about his nightmares. Talking about what he'd gone through out on that hill when he regained consciousness soon brought the raw emotions of the most frightening moment he could ever remember back, alongside the words that were coming out to describe it.

Gibbs was quick to move to physically anchor him through it. With tears rolling down his face, and Gibbs' arm wrapped around his shoulders for support, Tim had let it all out, not holding any of what he'd felt or heard in his head back. When he'd finished, he was exhausted, apologetic and eternally grateful all in the same breath. He'd smiled a weak smile of both apology and gratitude at Gibbs and whispered both sentiments to his anchor as the man helped him lie down and get comfortable, waiting for the exhaustion to take him away to what hopefully would be much more peaceful slumber. The older man had quietly reminded him he had nothing to apologise for; telling him again that Tim wouldn't be alone again and Gibbs was happy to be able to listen to anything Tim needed to talk about. He wasn't going anywhere.

And Gibbs had kept his word. He hadn't left Tim until well after the young man had fallen deeply and peacefully asleep. When he'd come out of Tim's room in need of a break, he'd only left the doorway of the room when Tony appeared to take his spot watching over Tim. Making sure that Tony knew to get him if he was needed, Gibbs patted the young man on the shoulder and left him to his big brother duty, knowing Tony needed this.

It was late, and everyone had had an emotionally exhausting day. They were all ready to call it an early night and take themselves off to relaxing and trying to get some sleep. All of them were keyed up with concern about how things would pan out for Tim and the team from here.

As Gibbs sat with Ducky and Mike, silently thinking over the conversations and emotions that had come from Tim, he felt a spark of hope. Most of what Tim seemed to be worrying about were things the old Tim would have worried about. Maybe he hadn't lost as much of himself as Gibbs had feared. The only thing that was seriously causing Gibbs concern was this place the young man's mind kept taking him back to. While there wasn't a whole lot any of them could do for Tim about it, Gibbs could only hope he'd been right in encouraging him to talk about it. Even though the more important questions still needed to be answered and only Tim could answer them when he was ready, Gibbs needed some back up with what he'd just gotten Tim to do, in the event that it backfired.

Ducky and Mike had lots on their minds as well, and so the three senior agents sat engrossed in the trappings of their thoughts, silent as the day had been long. Finally, after what seemed to have been hours, Gibbs shrugged his thoughts aside and took the plunge. As he shared the situation with Ducky and Mike, he began to feel better at the direction he'd taken with his agent. Having both his mentors second his way of handling it rallied Gibbs' self-confidence back to its normal place.

Secretly, Gibbs hoped that Tim wouldn't ask anything that the shrink should be around to answer for him, at least until the guy became available to talk to the young man. He seriously hoped the good doc would make himself available soon. They didn't need Tim to keep anything locked up that he might be afraid to ask them.

Smiling his thanks, he silently got up to go check on his recovering agent. When he reached the bedroom, he was relieved to find the young man still sleeping peacefully. As he gently woke Tony, he made sure Ducky was looking after getting him to the tent without him falling out on the ground. Pulling two chairs together, Gibbs sat in one while stretching his legs out on the other one, slid down until he was as comfortable as he could get, and allowed himself to rest while listening to his agent's steady breathing, in the event that it changed.

* * *

Morning came with Gibbs stiffly waking up before Tim and quickly going in search of coffee. As he came back into the bedroom and sat back down, Tim stirred restlessly. Gibbs quickly got up and helped him carefully sit up in bed. As he winced and cried out weakly with pain, the boss placed a calming hand on his shoulder and tried to calm him even as they finally got him to where he could lie back against the headboard of his bed.

"Okay, now?" Gibbs asked in concern as his agent gingerly sat back against his pillows.

"Yeah, " Tim answered in a shaky breath that resounded with pain.

"As soon as you eat breakfast, you can take your pain meds." The boss directed calmly.

"Need to get up." Tim protested weakly.

"Yeah, I know. C'mon." Gibbs helped the young man slowly and carefully get up out of bed and patiently walked him to the bathroom. As he waited out in the hall for him to come out, Ducky came wandering down the hall.

"Good morning, Jethro! How is Timothy, this morning?" the M.E. asked jovially.

"In a lot of pain, Duck." Gibbs answered quietly, unable to deal with too much of the jovial stuff this morning, as he nodded his head toward the bathroom door.

"Oh, of course. Let's get him some breakfast and we'll get him as comfortable as possible as soon as we can."

"Thanks, Duck." came the appreciative answer as Ducky headed toward the kitchen.

Before Tim came out of the bathroom, Tony was the next one down the hall.

"Hey, Boss! How's McGee?"

"In a lot of pain, Tony. He'll be out in a minute. Help me get him back to bed, will ya?" Gibbs knew Tony needed to be needed and this was the perfect opportunity, both to handle Tony's needs and build the relationship between both his boys back up.

As Tim opened up the bathroom door, he was startled to find Tony standing there, waiting for him. He realized he'd been in there for a while, but was thankful that pajama bottoms were easy to handle even with injured hands, or he would have been in there twice as long.

"Hey, McGee! You mind if I help boss get you back to bed? It might be less painful for you if you have another body to lean on." Tony encouraged.

"Thank you, Tony." Tim answered quietly in appreciation.

"No sweat, man."

Once settled back in bed, Tim was again surprised when Ducky brought him breakfast and sat back in the chair while Tony helped him eat it without questions or comments. Taking it at Tim's pace, the older field agent patiently fed him his toast, held his glass so he could sip from the straw, and so forth. At the embarrassment that crossed Tim's face very plainly, Tony was quick to speak up.

"No. I want to do this. Don't even waste any time being embarrassed about it. All right?" Tony pleaded.

Tim nodded with thanks in his eyes.

Ducky watched with quiet respect and Gibbs slipped out to get breakfast for himself and the other two currently looking after Tim.

As the morning wore on, Tim was given his pain medication and very willingly went back to sleep. With Mike and Tony currently staying in the house to keep an ear out for any problems, Gibbs and Ducky headed outside to check on the others. Finding them in the midst of quietly relaxing with books, time on the computer and such, Gibbs felt marginally less guilty that he'd been preoccupied and had left these guys to their own endeavors without even a second thought.

As he approached them, Abby was quick to come and greet him and ask about Tim. As he relayed to all of them at once, how Tim was doing, they, in turn were quick to reassure him that Tim should be everyone's top priority and no one was offended in the least. In fact, they all felt the need to step up and take turns helping cook for him, feed him, and keep him company during the course of the coming week they'd be staying at Mike's. When they shared their views on this with the boss; he could only smile in appreciation and pride.

And so the remainder of the day passed peacefully and calmly. Christmas would be upon them tomorrow and suddenly any and all extra hands not currently keeping Tim occupied were drafted into helping prepare for Christmas Dinner. This announcement elevated the atmosphere in the house to one of intense cheer even bringing a happier mood to Tim, who was growing restless in between his naps. Tempted with the offer of getting out of bed for the big event, if he behaved and followed orders today, Tim settled down and followed the letter of the law laid down to him for the day.

As the evening passed and everyone had done what was necessary for the next day and taken their shot at either taking care of Tim or stepping in to visit with him, they'd gotten through dinner, cleaned up after the meal, and headed back outside to relax and enjoy quiet evening pursuits. Tim wasn't yet comfortable around any of them for long periods of time and while it was frustrating for them, they were working extremely hard to be understanding about it and not push him. Patience was a virtue and it seemed to be one they were all being taught this Christmas.

* * *

Christmas morning dawned bright and beautiful and things seemed to proceed in much the same fashion that they had the day before, with the exception of everyone wishing everyone else a "Merry Christmas" "Happy Hanukkah" for Ziva. Mike even surprised Ziva with a Menorah.

"I know it's late for this, but I thought you'd be okay with it anyway," Mike had told her when he'd set it out for her. Ziva had been speechless, barely managing to get the words of appreciation out that she felt. _How thoughtful!_ "Thank you, very much."

"You're welcome, little lady." Mike had answered with a twinkle, knowing he was playing with fire calling her that. He'd quickly left the room before she fillayed him for lunch.

The afternoon was spent outside for the group, as Mike had banished them from the house. Gibbs and Ducky had even agreed to let Tm sit outside and enjoy both the weather and the time with the team, so long as he didn't move from the pillowed lounge chair they helped him into after lunch. As he watched with growing amusement, Tony, Ziva, Abby and Jimmy played tackle football far enough away that there was no risk of running into Tim's chair, but close enough for him to enjoy the game.

When the time came for the Christmas dinner, they were all ushered into the dining room as one group, with the exception of Tim. he was helped up to his feet and allowed to walk under his own steam, after the others had gotten out of the way. Once everyone was seated at the dinner table, the festive meal began and everyone dug in with gusto. Looking around him, Gibbs couldn't help but notice the complete joy on everyone's faces, even Tim's. In fact, the afternoon outside with his teammates seemed to have done him a world of good. As he glanced at each one of his kids, they seemed to feel his gaze and caught it, sharing a smile with him, a rare gift in itself. As he rested his gaze on his newly returned surrogate son, Gibbs couldn't help but send up a heartfelt word of gratitude. As he felt Tim's eyes on him, he refocused his mind, smiling back at the young man's questioning gaze.

Suddenly, feeling the need to rally them together, he stood and reached his glass out to the middle of the table, as a gesture of an oncoming cheer. Quickly, his glass was joined by the others, as they all joined in "To Mike! To Tim! To all of you who put your heart and soul into this job and to this team. And to This being the best Christmas since I joined NCIS!" Gibbs admitted quietly with a smile in Tim's direction. "You can't get any better than getting someone back from the dead." with his voice almost breaking at the regret that it hadn't happened for Shannon or Kelly or even Kate, Pacci or Paula. he quickly pulled his mind back to the gratitude that it had happened with Tim. The second chance they were not gonna squander. He sent a reassuring smile to each of them. They knew where his mind had just gone to and he didn't want them to focus on that. This was a day of celebrating and that's what they were gonna do!

"Hear Here!" was the resounding cheer as they all agreed with him.

Since no one had been in the Christmas spirit before the unveiling of their Christmas present from Mike; there were no presents to pass around. No one had any problem with that. As they sat around the table enjoying their togetherness and the completeness of it with the return of Tim. His presence was more than enough of a gift for each one of them.

"I have an idea!" Abby burst forth with.

"Let's hear it, darlin." Mike boomed.

"I think we can all offer some compromises for the coming year as our present to each other. I know they'll probably sound like New Year's Resolutions, but for the sake of Christmas, we can consider them Christmas presents.. For instance, Tony. I promise to stop making fun of you about your choice of dates. And Ziva, I promise to take you out on a 'girls' night out' at least once a month. Palmer, I promise to try much harder to call you Jimmy. Ducky, I promise try harder not to test your patience. And Gibbs, I promise to try to cut down on my caf-pows without sacrificing work quality or speed."

"Wow, Abbs. That's pretty impressive." Tony rewarded her. "There's just one problem with your 'compromises'".

"What?" Abby demanded.

"Well, taking Ziva out for a 'ladies night out' isn't work related or a compromise." Tony pointed out.

"You don'tknow Ziva as well as you think you do!" laughed Abby and even Gibbs had to chuckle at that. It was nearly impossible to get Ziva to out for fun with them. "Your turn Tony!"

"Well, jeez, this is kinda last minute, Abbs! You can't really expect me to come up with one for everyone on the spot!"

"C'mon, Tony, don't be such a whimp!" Abby goaded him as everyone cheered her on.

"oh, all right, but don't complain if they seem less than stellar!" Tony warned with a glare sent in Abby's direction.

"Let's here it, DiNozzo." Gibbs added with a grin. This should be good!

"Okay. Here goes. "Abby, I promise to..."

* * *

After the wonderful dinner and the "On the spot 'gift' exchanges from the heart, the group was ushered into the living room where their eyes lit up. In the course of the afternoon, a beautiful tree had been erected and decorated. What's more, there was a pile of gifts under the tree. in the midst of the train which was set to go around the Christmas Village set out under the tree. When they'd all sat down, the train was set in motion and the lights on the tree were switched on, creating a beautiful Christmas scene. Quickly, Abby brought out her camera and her cell phone, and demanded pictures, even setting the camera to take the photo of all of them by the tree on a timer. There was no doubt, this Christmas would live on in their memories room. Gibbs and Ducky were quick to see that Tim sttled into the recliner, wrapped up in a comfortor to protect his ribs and keep him from getting chilled

As the chaos of everyone trying to avoid getting their individual pictures taken had settled down, Mike set about getting comfortable by the tree- prepared to hand out the presents. In no particular order, he called out the names on the packages he picked up from under the tree. By the time he was done, everyone had two gifts in their laps, no one anxious to open theirs first. Seeing everyone waiting for something, Gibbs threw out a suggestion:

"Tim, let's get yours open first." the young man was beginning to tire and even looked like he was beginning to feel the pain of his still healing ribs and hands. Abby and Ziva each took one of his gifts and opened it for him. To his surprise; he found himself with several pairs of warm winter gloves as well as a cd he, at the moment did not recognise; FrankSinatra? He also had a Blockbuster gift card.. Still, he was touched. "Thank you." he said quietly to the group at large. No names were attached to the gifts, making the identity of the secret santa, just that, secret. Ducky silently handed the young man his pain meds and held a glass for him as he sipped the water while taking his pills before they continued on with the festivities. Tim softly offered the M.E. his thanks.

As they took a minute to smile encouragingly at him, Mike decided to keep the momentum going. "Ziva, we know we're breaking with your traditions and we apologise, but, please, accept these anyway. We couldn't very well not include you."

"Thank you. I do not mind, and I will accept these with appreciation." Ziva answered him with a smile as she opened her own presents to find A nice warm scarf and a gift certificate for a spa day, as well as a Blockbuster gift card.

As each one of them in turn, opened the presents in their laps, they were not only surprised, but grateful someone had done this for them.

Gibbs found himself with a Home Depot gift card, as well as a Starbucks gift card.

Abby, meanwhile found herself with tickets to a NewlyDeads concert and a gift card to her favorite tattoo shop, as well as a Blockbuster gift card.

As Tony finished unwrapping his presents, he found movie passes, a gift certificate for a professional interior detailed car cleaning and a Blockbuster gift card

Mike even unexpectedly found himself the repcient of several presents, when he'd unwrapped them, he'd found a gift card showing money on his account at his favorite cantina, and three 2-day passes to Disneyland. "I've been wanting to take my granddaughter there." he said with gratitude in his voice.

Ducky was the recpient of a gift certificate to a specialty British market, a new pair of warm gloves and a Blockbuster gift card.

Jimmy was the lucky recipient of a gift card to his college campus bookstore, and since he was still trying to take classes, it was a godsend. He also recieved a new pair of gloves and a Blockbuster Gift card.

It was a chaotic few minutes as everyone tried to talk and find out who the secret santa was, and thank that person. After a few minutes, the group was becoming quite animated and loud. After several minutes of 'thank you's ringing in the air, from his own corner of the living room; Gibbs cast his eyes over his group and perused each member of his team. He noted with relief that they were happy and relaxed for the first time in months. As his eyes landed on Tim, Gibbs had to smile, and this time it reached his eyes. Everyone around him seemed to go quiet at the same time, and as if by some unspoken command, they all turned to look at Tim, as Gibbs was already doing, each coming away with a smile of their own at what they saw.

Tim McGee sat peacefully asleep in midst of their ruckus - with a tender smile on his face.


	7. Coming Home

The remainder of the week, passed with remarkable similarity to events of the day before Christmas. The guys would help Tim take care of his personal business and the ladies would then take over getting him fed and supplied with his pain meds and quietly encouraged to go back to sleep. Even though he was capable of getting around under his own steam, for precautionary measures, Ducky and Gibbs insisted on limiting him on it for at least the first half of the week.

In between his naps, Tim would patiently listen as the team would assemble together around him and relate stories from their time together. Even though the stories came straight out of their memories, they all made painstaking effort to keep anything that would remotely embarrass or leave him feeling unwanted or uncared about, out of their versions.

After dinner, the gang would alternate card playing, chess, checkers and movies. All of the choices were good for Tim's recovery, as was the time the team spent together just having fun and bonding all over again. By the time their last planned night had arrived, Tim was much more comfortable around all of them, even used to any of them being the one watching over him as he slept. Gibbs had noticed this with great relief. He'd known that Tim had been much more upset with himself about it at the beginning of the week than he'd let on. Now, thankfully, it was one burden off the young man's shoulders.

Gibbs noticed Mike had steadfastly begun removing himself from the majority of interactions with Tim, more as the days went on. He understood what Mike was doing; after all, the young man's team would be with him day in and day out. They were the ones who needed to rebuild his trust and sense of security in their presence. Mike saw no reason to be the third wheel in the situation.

It had become an unspoken rule that Tim not be allowed to wake up alone, for fear his mind would immediately have him reliving that horrible moment when he had become conscious out on that hill, alone, frightened out of his mind, with no memory and in horrible pain.

The younger team members didn't know the details of what had happened out there and for now, at least, they didn't need to. They knew enough to be more than happy to make sure Tim was never alone. Mike helped out with that, silently and frequently. It was the one measure of help he allowed himself to give, leaving everything else to the rest of the team. He also helped keep track of who Tim talked to about what he'd been through. Although the resulting answer was both sad and possible cause for concern. The young man wasn't talking to anyone about what he'd been through. And that could be taken several different ways.

As the team settled down for their last night in Mexico, Ducky approached Gibbs in concern.

"Jethro, you are aware that Timothy has not spoken to anyone about his ordeal before he stumbled across Mike?" the M.E.'s question came from out of the blue. They hadn't talked about Tim's choice to talk or not talk, yet.

"Duck, he talks to me just fine. When he needs to." Gibbs told him pointedly.

"Ah! Yes. Well, that's good, Jethro. I see you are in control of the situation already." Ducky's worry evaporated as he patted Gibbs on the arm and took himself off to bed; leaving Gibbs alone with his thoughts and worries.

As morning broke, the team busily packed their things and tidied up and packed up the tent and everything in it. As the appointed hour for departure arrived, the team said their goodbyes to Mike with open gratitude and appreciation from all of them. When Tim approached the man, he hugged him and thanked him quietly for helping save his life and calling his team to come get him.

"Just don't get yourself kidnapped again, kid and we'll be even." Mike said without thinking about it. It was nothing different than he would have said to anyone else, but, if the look on Gibbs' face was anything to go by, it should have been. Since no one else caught it and it seemed to go right over Tim's head, Gibbs let it go with a sharp look in Tim's direction, looking for delayed reaction. Apparently, for some reason, the young man hadn't been listening, which this time, was a godsend. As Gibbs breathed a sigh of relief, he shook Mike's hand and thanked him for keeping Tim safe and getting the team down here to get him and bring him back home.

As the team boarded the plane a short time later, Gibbs watched for Tim's reaction to flying. He seemed to be fine. He would need to be watched during the trip. It wasn't long, however, before the inactivity of the flight lulled the young man to sleep. As the rest of the team settled in for their own naps, Gibbs found himself stopping for a moment to reflect, they were going home.

Tim McGee was coming home.


End file.
